Locking assembly for refuse containers

ABSTRACT

A locking assembly for refuse containers comprises a reinforced locking bar spring mounted above the refuse exit doorway of a compactor. The locking bar is drawn tightly down over the refuse removal doors of a refuse container while the container is held in place against the compactor, to prevent the opening and buckling of these doors during compaction of refuse in said container. The locking bar is drawn into place by a quick-acting load binder.

United States Patent Palopoli et al,

[ 1 May 16, 1972 [54] LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR REFUSE CONTAINERS [72]Inventors: Frank Palopoli, Babylon; Salvatore Palopoli, Amity Harbor,both of NY.

[73] Assignee: Sanitary Controls, Inc., Deer Park, NY.

[22} Filed: Feb. 18, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 116,330

[52] US. Cl. ..l00/229 A, 100/255 [51] Int. Cl ..B30b 15/00 [58] Fieldof Search ..l00/229, 229 A, 255;

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS French et a] ..lOO/229 A3,575,103 4/1971 Charles ..lO0/229 A Primary ExaminerBilly J. WilhiteAttorney-Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman [5 7] ABSTRACT A locking assemblyfor refuse containers comprises a reinforced locking bar spring mountedabove the refuse exit doorway of a compactor. The locking bar is drawntightly down over the refuse removal doors of a refuse container whilethe container is held in place against the Compactor, to prevent theopening and buckling of these doors'during compaction of refuse in saidcontainer. The locking bar is drawn into place by a quick-acting loadbinder.

13 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures TUBE BENDER AND METHOD This inventionrelates to a novel tube bender. It also relates to a novel method ofbending a tube. In one of its aspects the invention relates to a tubebender having a tube gripping means and a roller means. In anotheraspect of the invention it relates to a tube bender suited to bendingvarious kinds of pipe or tubing, more especially plastic coated tubing.In still another of its aspects the invention relates to a tube benderhaving a stationary tube roller means. In a further aspect of theinvention, it relates to a combination of a tube roller, tube bendingand a tube gripping means.

In one of its concepts the invention provides a tube bender having agrippable handle means having a land portion at one end portion thereofand grippable means extending from said land portion toward the otherend thereof; a rotatable tube roller mounted on said land; a tubeholding means pivotally fixed by a pivot to said land adjacent saidroller; a wheel on said pivot positioned in a manner to permit a tube tofit between said roller and said wheel; said wheel being fixed to saidtube holding means and thus adapted to rotate about said pivot togetherwith said holding means.

In another of its concepts the invention provides a tube bender asdescribed wherein the tube holding means comprises a tube gripping meansactuatable independently from the action of the tube bender when it isbending a tube. In a further concept of the invention it provides a tubebender as described wherein the tube gripping means comprises a set oftube gripping elements, or jaws, at the respective ends of a pliersportion of said tube holding means, the said ends of the pliers portionbeing located adjacent said wheel whereby the tube can be firmly securedagainst said wheel while being bent therearound.

In a further concept still the invention provides a tube bender which isadjustable in that the rotatable tube roller is mounted in said landslidably away and toward said wheel, e.g., as in a slot in said land,said slot being cut along a line joining the axes of said roller andsaid wheel, a suitable fixing element or slide lock being provided toretain the roller in a desired position of adjustment during use of thebender, thus to hold the roller against the tube for rolling the bend.

A further concept still of the invention is in that it provides a methodfor bending tubing, including plastic coated tubing by drawing thetubing firmly gripped around a wheel against which it is held and,therefore, formed by a rotatable wheel.

In a further concept of the invention there is provided in conjunctionwith a tube bending wheel or segment around which a tube is to be bent aplierslike holding means having gripping elements orjaws as hereindescribed.

Tube benders have been available for a long time and are exemplified,for example, in patents such as the following:

U.S. Pat. No. 1,879,868 issued Sept. 27, 1932,

U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,914 issued May 26,1959,

U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,532 issued Mar. 26, 1968 Further, various tubebenders are illustrated in catalogues of manufacturers of the same.

The tube benders available in the prior art have been foundunsatisfactory for bending delicate tubing, for example, tubing whichhas been coated with a coating which can be marred, cracked, orotherwise destroyed, eg, a plastic coating or other coating such aspaint, enamel, etc. I have conceived and designed a tube bender whichwill bend plain tubing as well as coated tubing without changing parts.A plier-like grip to grip the tubing is provided with a roller to bendthe tube. A wheel is provided around which the tube is to be bent byaction of the roller which actually rolls the bend by rolling the tubearound the wheel. In its preferred form the roller rotates upon a ballbearing for ease of rolling. A slide lock or other adjustment isprovided for fixing the roller precisely to the tubing, thus toencompass the same between the roller and said wheel prior to grippingthe tube with the plier-like grip before bending the same. I have foundthat my tube bender or method of bending a tube which has been coated,as with plastic, will not break the plastic coating, nor will it scaruncoated or plain tubing. The tube is not flattened in the bend, ratherit rolls out with a nice smooth bend. This is so whether the tube iscoated or uncoated.

One of the problems in the prior art has been to provide a tube benderwhich will permit operation while holding the tube securely withoutmarring or otherwise injuring the same or its surface. I have provided areadily, quickly operable tube gripping section within a tube bender,the tube gripper being like unto a pliers having elements or jaws of thepliers to encompass substantially the entire periphery of the tube atthe place of gripping. In the preferred embodiment, the elements aresemicircular jaws gripping the tubing therebetween over a substantiallength thereof of the order of a quarter inch or more, usually dependingupon the diameter of the tubing. The pliers-like gripping device can besubstituted for the usual tube holder and can be used with tube benderswherein the 1 bending element or the bending handle, i.e., the bendingshoe, slides upon the tubing as the tubing is bent, thereby around acurved object, e.g., a wheel.

An object of the invention is to provide a tube bender. Another objectof the invention is to provide a method for bending a tube. A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a tube bender and methodparticularly suited to bending a tube without marring or scarring thesame or injuring a coating on the surface thereof, for example, aplastic or painted coating. Still further an object of the invention isto provide a tube bender and method of bending a tube which will give anice smooth bend without any flattening of the tube in or near the bend.

Other aspects, concepts and objects of the invention are apparent from astudy of this disclosure, the drawing and the appended claims.

According to the invention there is provided a tube bender having apliers-like tube gripping means, a means around which to bend the tubeand a tube bending means. Still according to the invention the tubebender comprises a combination of a wheel around which a tube can bebent and a rotatable bending roller mounted in juxtaposition to saidwheel adapted to roll the tubing against said wheel as the tubing isdrawn between said roller and said wheel when said wheel is rotated asby motion of the tube gripping means to which said wheel can beattached.

The invention is applicable to putting various degrees of bend intovarious kinds of pipe or tubing; thus, pipes of metal, plastic, or othermaterials can be bent up to or more, depending upon the structure and/orconfiguration of, say wheel Referring now to the drawings in which a nowpreferred embodiment of the concepts of the invention have been combinedto produce a tube bender.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a tube bender according to the inventionshowing one form of the combinations possible of the grippable handlemeans, the rotatable roller wheel which is hearing mounted, the wheelaround which the tube is bent or curved and the plier-like tube holdingor gripping means.

FIG. 2 shows the grippable handle means by itself in plan view to permitthe viewer to see the wheel pivot securing threaded hole and therotatable roller slot in which the roller can be securely fixed inposition whereby the distance between the wheel and roller is made toaccommodate quite precisely the diameter of the tube.

FIG. 2a is a longitudinal side view of the grippable handle meansshowing particularly the two-level land or platform portion of thegrippable handle means upon and to which the roller and wheel arerespectively fixed, the wheel being fixed mediately to the land, as canbe observed in FIG. 1 with the extended portion of the plierortube-holding means fixed to the pivot between said wheel and said land.

FIGS. 3 and 3a illustrate the details of the element which acts beneaththe slot in the land to slidably lock the rotating roller in a desiredposition thereof.

FIG. 4 shows in plan view the longer of the two elements of the plierortube-holding means.

FIG. 5 shows the shorter of the two elements of the tubeholding means.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show in plan view and FIGS. 6a and 7a show in elevationalcross-section, respectively, the roller and the wheel.

FIG. 8 shows the holding and tightening shanked bolt for securing theoperative positions, respectively, of the fixed wheel and rotatingroller of the tube bender of the invention.

FIG. 9 shows the shanked bolt of the plier-like gripping means.

FIGS. 10 and 10a and FIGS. 11 and 11a show the structure of the tubegripping elements of the plier-like tube-holding means.

FIGS. 10 and 10a show, respectively, in end and plan view the larger ofthe elements or jaws and FIGS. 11 and 11a show, respectively, the sameviews of the smaller of said elements.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 2a, grippable handle means 1 is providedwith a land means generally indicated at 2. The land means 2 possessesan upper and lower level 3 and 4, respectively, on which are mountedrotating roller 5 and wheel 6. The plier-like tube gripping or holdingmeans generally indicated at 7 is composed of elements 8 and 9. Element9 extends to and is encompassed between land portion 4 and wheel 6. Theroller is rotatably secured to portion '3 of the land by shank bolt 10.Further, element 9 is secured to wheel 6 by means of screws, one ofwhich is shown in phantom view at 12. The adjustable slide lockmechanism is generally indicated at 13 and is composed of substantiallyright angular element 14 shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 3a. As can beseen in FIG. 1, but referring also to FIGS. 2, 2a, 3, and 3a, a pin 15is secured in land portion 3 and coacts with slot 16 of FIG. 3 toposition pin 15 at the base of slot 16. When right angular element 14 ofthe slide lock is rotated in counterclockwise direction the roller 5 isadjusted with respect to the pipe to be bent and wheel 6 and the shankbolt 10 is tightened. Shank bolt 10 in this embodiment extends intoelement 14 so that bolt 10 secures together wheel 5, land 3 and element14. In lieu of shank bolt 10 there can be used a bolt or machine screwwhich extends upwardly from under land 3 and land 4. Such a screw canserve to fasten element 14 up under land 3.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 10, 10a, 11, and 11a the tube grippingelements 17 and 18 coact when elements 8 and 9 are brought together bythe action of shanked bolt 11 to grip or hold the tube in thecylindrical or tubular channel 20 formed by said elements 17 and 18.

Referring to elements 17 and 18 which in this embodiment form the tubegripping or holding jaws, it will be seen that element 17 has a bottomportion terminating upon element or handle 9 and that jaw or element 18has a bottom portion terminating at the lower level at the top surfaceof element or handle 8. Thus, channel 20 is formed and aligned with theaxis of a tube nested in the groove of wheel 6. This particulararrangement of the combination of the gripping jaws and the wheel 6constitutes an important feature of my invention and in combination withthe two-level land. A further feature of the invention, one skilled inthe art will see, is that shank bolts 10 provide for rotationtherearound of roller 5 and wheel 6, respectively. a While wheel 6 hasbeen shown as a unitary element, it is possible to provide the samecomposed of two or more pieces; for example, a bottom half and a tophalf; thus, the top portion of a composited wheel 6 can be removed aswhen a tube has been bent more than 180.

For sake of completeness, though it may not be necessary for one skilledin the art, viewing the drawings, FIGS. 4 and 5 show the holes throughwhich or into which the respective bolts or screws which have beenmentioned are placed. Detailed description of these figures is omittedfor sake of brevity. The combination of the figures clearly elucidatesto one skilled in the art just how the details of the apparatus areconstructed and how the elements are brought into operativerelationships.

Referring specifically to wheel 6 which is shown in FIGS. 7 and 7a, inthis embodiment of the invention, the upper flange has been out alongthe chord of a circle facing the roller 5 and directly opposite theretoat the jaws of the plier-like tube holding or gripping means. This formor design of wheel 6 permits a more compact apparatus in that the tubecan be more readily inserted and removed from between roller 5 and wheel6 and also from around wheel 6 and from the gripping jaws when these areopened. Further, slide lock 14 need only be moved in a direction awayfrom wheel 6 sufficiently to insert and to remove the tube as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art. When many tubes have to be bentand/or when working in confined space, the feature of wheel 6 herediscussed requires less motion of the slide lock and roller 5 and ofelement 8.

Though it is now preferred that the portion of roller 5 and wheel 6contacted by the tube during bending form as nearly as possible anespousal of the tube, it is clear that a complete espousal is not alwaysnecessary. For example, a somewhat different radius of curvature for oneor both the roller and wheel might be used with respect to a tube ofgiven radius, or the same shape and size of curvature of roller 5 andwheel 6 can be used with tubes of different radii. Thus a series oftubes of different radii can be bent acceptably without changing,necessarily, a given set of roller 5 and wheel'6. Tubes which can bebent according to the invention can have other than a circular crosssection, as will be understood by one skilled in the art in possessionof this disclosure.

Such tubes as discussed herein can be accommodated readily by suitableadjustment of shank bolt 10 and locking element 14 in view of the slot22 in land 3 through which shank bolt 10 passes.

Depending upon the material of construction of the tube; i.e., thenature of its bendability, roller 5 and/or wheel 6 need not be groovedor recessed at the point of contact with the tube; thus, so long as thetube will bend acceptably at wheel 6 without being deformed unacceptablyby roller 5, the configuration of roller 5 and/or wheel 6 can be of anydesired shape.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope ofthe foregoing disclosure, the drawing and the appended claims to theinvention the essence of which is that there has been provided a tubebender, a tube gripper or holding means and a combination in a tubebender of said tube holder and in a specific embodiment, the tubebending means with which the tube holder is combined comprises arotatable tube roller and a wheel which moves in fixed relation with thetube holder as it is moved to bend the tube around said wheel with aidof said rotatable tube roller; the tube holding means in one embodimentcomprising a plier-like arrangement having the tube holding means formedin the form of elements or jaws as described; and also, the tube rollerbeing slidably mounted and locked to permit adjustment thereof withrespect to the tube to be bent and the wheel around which the tube is tobe bent; and, finally, that a wheel design has been set forth whichpermits ready disengagement of the bent tube as well as engagement ofthe tube to be bent, especially when working in confined spaces.

I claim:

1. A tube bender comprising a pliers-like tube gripper having twopivoted handles and having coacting jaw portions one on each handleadapted to grip a tube when the handles are moved towards each other,said pliers being pivotally fixed to a pivot with a wheel also fixed tosaid pivot around which the tube to be bent is bent by actuating saidtube gripper, and a roller positioned to encompass a tube between saidroller and said wheel, the roller functioning to hold the tube againstsaid wheel while the tube is drawn around said wheel by activating saidroller.

2. A tube bender according to claim 1 wherein the tube gripper iscomprised of a pliers-type portion, the jaws of which are shaped toconform to the shape of the tube and to hold the same therebetween.

of the door 46 and resists and reinforces the door 46 so that it doesnot buckle under extended and prolonged pressure from the ram 20. Whennext the ram withdraws backward into the compactor, there is asufficient spread and dilution of pressure so that the door 46 would notbe caused to buckle. When the compaction process has been carried out sothat the refuse container is full, the load binder 76 is disengaged, andspecifically the handle 86 is brought by a worker from a verticalorientation to a horizontal orientation, permitting the bar 48, underthe influence of the bias of the spring 68, to move partially upwardly.

The hooks 84 are then disengaged from the loops 74 on the anchors 72,whereby the spring 68 moves the locking bar 48 further upwardly to theposition shown in FIG. 1. Next, the hooks 28 of the turnbuckle assembly26 are removed from the apertures 39 in the frame 38 of the container30, and the refuse container 30 can be removed from the compactor 12.The refuse container can be raised and dumped into the body of a dumptruck in a conventional manner, or if the refuse container 30 is quitelarge, it may be brought directly to a refuse dump and emptied. Ineither of these operations, the door 46 is opened, so that the refusewithin the container leaves it through the opening left by the rotationof the door 46.

It will now be appreciated that the locking assembly 10 of the presentinvention is quickly and efficiently able to hold the door 46 of arefuse container closed, and is able to resist the heightened pressureand stress engendered by the compactor ram. The locking assembly is keptout of the way while the refuse container is engaged with the compactor,and is brought to its locking position by a worker quickly and easily.The provision of the locking assembly enables the doors of the containerto be made of relatively lightweight material, whereas otherwiseextremely heavy reinforced plates would have to be utilized to resistthe aforesaid buckling and tendency to open.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A locking assembly for use with a refuse container of the typeadapted to be coupled to a compactor, said assembly comprising anelongated locking bar, hinge means mounting the locking bar on thecompactor for movement between a position out of interference with therefuse container and a position locking the door of the container, andmeans for temporarily retaining the locking bar in its locking position.

2. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the temporaryretaining means includes a load binder.

3. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein the temporaryretaining means comprises an anchor and a load binder attaching the barto the anchor.

4. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the anchorcomprises an elongated strut at ground level fixed to and projectingfrom the compactor.

5. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the anchorcomprises an elongated strut fixed to the compactor and carrying a loop,and the load binder has a hook matable with said loop.

6. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the temporaryretaining means comprises a pair of spaced parallel anchors fixed to thecompactor and terminating in loops and a pair of load binders fixed tothe bar and matable with said loops.

7. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein each load binderis connected to the bar by a chain and terminates in a hook.

8. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hinge meansincludes a spring biasing the bar to a position out of interference withthe container.

9. A lockmg assembly as set forth 11'] claim 8 wherein said positionforms an acute angle with the horizon.

10. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein the springincludes a section positioned against one of the bar and the compactorand a section positioned against the other of the bar and the compactor.

11. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bar is ofladder-like construction.

12. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 11 wherein the ladder-likeconstruction extends beyond the container, when the container is linkedto the compactor.

13. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hinge meansis fixed to the compactor at a level immediately above the level of thecontainer door.

1. A locking assembly for use with a refuse container of the typeadapted to be coupled to a compactor, said assembly comprising anelongated locking bar, hinge means mounting the locking bar on thecompactor for movement between a position out of interference with therefuse container and a position locking the door of the container, andmeans for temporarily retaining the locking bar in its locking position.2. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the temporaryretaining means includes a load binder.
 3. A locking assembly as setforth in claim 2 wherein the temporary retaining means comprises ananchor and a load binder attaching the bar to the anchor.
 4. A lockingassembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the anchor comprises anelongated strut at ground level fixed to and projecting from thecompactor.
 5. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein theanchor comprises an elongated strut fixed to the compactor and carryinga loop, and the load binder has a hook matable with said loop.
 6. Alocking assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the temporary retainingmeans comprises a pair of spaced parallel anchors fixed to the compactorand terminating in loops and a pair of load binders fixed to the bar andmatable with said loops.
 7. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 6wherein each load binder is connected to the bar by a chain andterminates in a hook.
 8. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1wherein the hinge means includes a spring biasing the bar to a positionout of interference with the container.
 9. A locking assembly as setforth in claim 8 wherein said position forms an acute angle with thehorizon.
 10. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein thespring includes a section positioned against one of the bar and thecompactor and a section positioned against the other of the bar and thecompactor.
 11. A locking assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein thebar is of ladder-like construction.
 12. A locking assembly as set forthin claim 11 wherein the ladder-like construction extends beyond thecontainer, when the container is linked to the compactor.
 13. A lockingassembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hinge means is fixed to thecompactor at a level immediately above the level of the container door.